Rolling mill



L. IVERSEN July 14, 1936.

ROLLING MILL Filed Aug. 26, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR July, 14, 1936. 1., IVERSEN 2,047,509

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ROLLING MILL Filed Aug. 26, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES ROLLING MILL Lorenz Iversen, Pittsburgh. Pa.,

assignor to Mesta Machine Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation, of Pennsylvania Application August 26, 1933, Serial No. 686,942 5.Claims. (Cl. 80-31.1)

My invention relates to rolling mills and, in particular, to a mill having vertical rolls.

In the manufacture of rolled metal articles such as round bars, it has been considered desirable heretofore to subject the articles to the action of a stand of vertical grooved rolls after passing through the last stand of horizontal grooved rolls. The mills now used for this purpose are conventional vertical mills driven from below by a line shaft and bevel gearing. This construction is cumbersome to assemble and difficult to adjust and keep in repair. It is also very important to have the pass of the vertical mill as close as possible to the pass of the preceding horizontal mill. It is an object of my invention to provide an improved vertical rolling mill structure which overcomes the disadvantages of similar mills known previously.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a base secured to a suitable foundation, and a supporting frame which is adapted for adjustment along the base transversely of the path of travel of material through the mill. The supporting frame is provided with abutments on which is carried a vertically adjustable cradle. The era-- dle supports two roll housings on opposite sides of the pass and each housing contains bearings for supporting a vertical backing up roll which gives lateral support to a vertical working roll preferably having a grooved surface.

The backing rolls are driven by separate motors directly connected thereto and mounted on the roll housings. The working rolls are frictionally driven by the backing rolls. Means are provided for individually adjusting each working roll axially. Gne of the roll housings is fixed against lateral movement in the cradle, while the other is adjustable horizontally therein.

In order'to synchronize the speed of the vertical working rolls with that of the horizontal rolls in the last stand of a mill, I provide a generator adapted to be mechanically driven by the motor or other means which drives the last horizontal roll stand. The motor of a *motor-generator set is electrically driven by this generator and the generator of the motor-generator set supplies current to the two motors which drive the vertical backing rolls.

For a complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating a present preferred embodiment. In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section, the plane'of the section being indicated by the line r-I of Figure 2 the cradle 30, by means of springs 38. The hous- Figure 2 is a sectional view along the line H--1I of Figure 1, showing parts in plan;

Figure 3 is a. partial sectional view along the line III-111 of Figure 1, showing the roll housings and a portion of the cradle apart from the 5 supporting frame;

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line IV-IV of Figure "2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line V-V of Figure 2; m

Figure 6 is a side elevation with parts in section along the line VIVI of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical and mechanical connections constituting the drive for the vertical roll stand.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the i1- lustrated embodiment of the inventioncomprises a base having bed rails ll extending longitudinally thereof. A supporting frame 02 is mounted on the bed rails it for adjustment there- 20 along. A screw shaft i3 is pinned to one end of the frame l2 and traverses a threaded sleeve it). The sleeve M is driven by a gear 55 meshing with a pinion it. A motor ii is coupled to the shaft of the pinion it. A gear box it on 5 one end of the base it houses the gear 05 and pinion it. The frame i2 may be secured in adjusted position on the base 50 by means of T-bolts l9 and keys it or other suitable means.

Abutments 25 extend upwardly from the frame so it adjacent opposite ends thereof. A transverse shaft 22 is journaled in the abutments 2!! and is provided with pinions 23. A double reduction gear 2 4 mounted in a suitable gear box on the right hand abutment 29 as viewed in Figure 2, 35 actuates the shaft 22 when a hand wheel 25 is turned. The double reduction gear comprises a pinion 26, a gear 27, a worm 28 and a worm wheel 29. The gear 2? and the worm 28 are keyed to a common shaft journaled in the gear box. 4.0,

A cradle or secondary supporting member to is vertically adjustable on the abutments it along guides 3i. Keepers 32 cooperate with the guides to secure the cradle therein. The cradle comprises a generally box-like casting having windows 33 in opposite sides thereof and an open top and bottom. Racks 30 are formed on the exit side of the cradle for engagement by the pinions 23. The cradle has a vertical opening 35 for receiving roll housings 3t and 37.

The roll housings are of substantially yoke form in section, as shown in Figure 2. The roll housing 35 is normally maintained in abutting engagement with the end of the opening 35 in 5 ventional type.

ing 31 is normally urged toward the right-hand end of the opening 35, as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a spring 40. The housing 31, however, is adjustable laterally in the cradle by means of adjusting screws 4| traversing threaded sleeves 42 fitted in recesses at the right-hand end of the cradle 30. Worm wheels 43 are secured to the screws 4| and are actuated by worms 44 carried on a shaft 45 journaled vertically in the cradle. A hand wheel 46 on the shaft 45 permits the screws 4| to be adjusted to shift the housing 31 toward or away from the housing 36.

Each of the housings 36 and 31 is provided with a working roll 41 and a backing roll 48 which gives lateral support to, and drives the working roll. The surfaces of the working rolls 4'] are preferably grooved except for portions adjacent their ends. The backing rolls 48 are recessed at 49 to clear the grooved portions of the rolls 41, leaving enlarged end portions for engaging the ungrooved portions of the working rolls. The rolls 48 are journaled in anti-friction bearings of any suitable type positioned in hearing boxes 50 seated in the housings. The upper bearing box 50 may preferably embody a thrust bearing for supporting the weight of the roll 48. The working rolls 41 are similarly journaled in bearings contained in bearing boxes 5|. Hook bolts 5|a engaging the bearing boxes 5| of the working rolls and actuated by springs 5|b bearing against shoulders on the roll housings, serve to keep said working roll in frictional driving engagement with its backing roll. The roller bearings for the working rolls may be of con- Screws 5|d hold the housings 36 in contact with the exit side of the cradle. Driving motors 52 are coupled to the backing rolls 48 and are supported on extensions or shelves 53 on the housings 36 and 31.

The upper bearings for the rolls are shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5. The upper hearing boxes 5| are provided adjacent the lower ends with conventional roller bearings 54 operating between raceways 55 and 56 in the boxes and on the shafts of the rolls 4'! respectively. Internally threaded sleeves 51 are seated in the upper ends of the boxes 5| by integral supporting flanges. Additional sleeves 58 threaded externally are adjustably positioned in the sleeves 51. An anti-friction thrust bearing comprising race-ways 59 and rollers 60 is carried in the sleeve 58. A look nut 6| secures the sleeves 5'| and 58 together. A collar 62 is secured to the reduced end of the roll 41 by a key 63 and engages the anti-friction thrust bearing to support the roll. A cover 5811 is bolted to sleeve 58 and this cover has holes drilled around its periphery by means of which the sleeve and cover may be turned when desired, to adjust the rolls axially.

The bearing box 51 is supported in the roll housing in the manner shown more clearly in Figure 5. The housing 36 is seated in the opening 35 in the cradle 30 by means of recesses in the sides of the opening and shoulders 65 resting thereon. The housing 36 has grooves 66 and flanges 61. The bearing box 5|, which is rectangular in outline (as shown in Figure 2), has lugs adapted to enter the grooves 66. Keys 68 secure the box in position. Hold-down clamps 69 are bolted to the cradle 30. At one side, the clamps engage the housing 36 as shown in Figure 5. The other side of each clamp engages a lug ID integral with the cradle.

Figure 7 illustrates schematically the drive for the mill shown in Figures 1 to 6. In Figures 6 and '7, the last stand of horizontal rolls of a mill is indicated at II. This stand of rolls is driven by a motor 12 through a pinion stand 13. A generator 14 is coupled to the shaft of the motor 12. The generator 14 is electrically connected to the motor 15 of a motor generator set 16. The generator 11 of the motor generator set 16 is electrically connected to the motors 52 which are directly coupled to the backing rolls 48 of the vertical stand. It will be apparent that this drive for the rolls of the vertical stand permits the working rolls thereof to be properly synchronized as to linear speed with the horizontal rolls 1 The vertical roll stand illustrated and described herein is characterized by numerous advantages over such structures as known to the prior art. The rolls of the mill are capable of a wide variety and range of adjustments. The various parts of the mill are readily accessible and can be easily removed for inspection or replacement. The friction drive of the work rolls from the backing rolls is characterized by great simplicity and high efiiciency. The vertical mill may be located very close to the center of the leading horizontal mill. I

It will be apparent that the mill is adjustable transversely so that the pass between the working rolls may be properly alined with the path of the advancing material by operating the motor I1 to turn the adjusting screw shaft l3. This adjustment is made so that the left-hand working roll carried by the housing 36 has the prop- 3 er relation to the path of material. When the frame I2 has been properly adjusted transversely, it may be secured in adjusted position in the manner disclosed, and the right-hand working roll adjusted to provide a pass of the desired size by operation of the hand wheel 46. The roll assembly may be adjusted vertically by turning the hand wheel 25 to raise or lower the entire cradle as a unit. The working rolls may be adjusted endwise individually, furthermore, by means of the threaded sleeves 51 and 58.

The roll housings 36 and 31 may readily be removed by releasing the clamps 69 and the springs 39 and 40. The working rolls may be moved by knocking out the keys 68 and shifting the bearing boxes laterally out of the jaws of the housings 36 or 37. The working rolls are always maintained in driving engagement with the backing rolls by the hook bolts 5|a. The axes of the working and backing rolls lie in a vertical plane on the entrance side of the mill so that the latter can be positioned quite close to the last horizontal mill stand as shown in Figure 6. The easy adjustability of the working rolls makes it possible readily to direct the material into different grooves on the rolls. Similarly, the correction of the pass to compensate for wear is also easily accomplished.

Although I have illustrated and described herein but one preferred embodiment of the invention, 6

said housings, working rolls similarly journaled 75 therein, and an adjustable thrust bearing supporting at least one of the working rolls whereby it may be adjusted axially in its housing.

2. In a rolling mill, an abutment for sustaining the abutment, a pairof independent roll housings removably seated in the cradle, a roll journaled vertically in each housing, each housing having a shelf projecting thereover and a motor on said shelf for driving said roll.

3. A rolling mill comprising a base having an upstanding abutment thereon, a cradle slidable vertically on said abutment, a pair of independent housings seated in said cradle, each housing in- 1 eluding two pairs of vertically aligned bearings,

working and backing rolls journaled in said bearings, each of said housings having a shelf extending over said bearings and a motor on said shelf for driving the backing roll.

4. A rolling mill comprising a cradle mounted for vertical movement, and a pair of independent, open sided housings removably seated in the cradle with their open sides adjacent, work rolls and backing rolls journaled in each housing, the faces of the work rolls projecting outwardly of the open sides of the housings into contact with each other, each housing having a shelf thereover and a motor on said shelf for driving the work roll journaled therein.

5. The apparatus defined by claim 4 characterized by said working roll bearings being movable laterally in said housings, and means for retracting them until the working rolls engage the backing rolls.

LORENZ IVERSEN. 

